Infrastructure-less indoor navigation in a fire control system

ABSTRACT

Devices, methods, and systems for infrastructure-less indoor navigation in a fire control system are described herein. One device includes a non-transitory computer readable medium having computer readable instructions stored thereon that are executable by a processor to receive a location of each of a plurality of smoke detectors of a facility, display the location of each of the plurality of smoke detectors in a building information model (BIM) on a user interface, wherein each respective one of the displayed plurality of smoke detectors represents a different smoke detector of the plurality of smoke detectors of the facility, receive a selection of a first displayed smoke detector of the plurality of displayed smoke detectors representing a first smoke detector of the plurality of smoke detectors of the facility, and guide a user to the location of the first smoke detector of the facility responsive to receiving the selection.

PRIORITY INFORMATION

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/393,207, filed Apr. 24, 2019, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to devices, methods, andsystems for infrastructure-less indoor navigation in a fire controlsystem.

BACKGROUND

Large facilities (e.g., buildings), such as commercial facilities,office buildings, hospitals, and the like, may have a fire controlsystem that can be triggered during an emergency situation (e.g., afire) to warn occupants to evacuate. For example, a fire control systemmay include a fire control panel and a plurality of smoke detectors,located throughout the facility (e.g., on different floors and/or indifferent rooms of the facility) that can sense a fire occurring in thefacility and provide a notification of the fire to the occupants of thefacility via alarms.

Maintaining the fire control system can include locating and fixingissues generated by the smoke detectors. Typically, a maintenanceengineer can determine smoke detector faults at the fire control panel.The maintenance engineer can write down which smoke detectors havefaults and the addresses of each smoke detector to carry with him. Themaintenance engineer can use the addresses along with a floor plan ofthe facility to find each smoke detector with a fault. In some examples,the addresses may not be correct and/or accurate enough to provide anexact location of the smoke detector. As such, the maintenance engineermay need to check a plurality of smoke detectors within an area toidentify the device with the fault.

After the maintenance engineer has identified the faulty smoke detectorand believes the fault has been fixed, the maintenance engineer goesback to the fire control panel to confirm whether the fault has beencleared. If the fault has not been fixed, the maintenance engineer goesback to the smoke detector to try to fix the fault again. This processof fixing the fault and confirming that the fault has been fixed at thefire control panel can be time consuming.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a computing device for guiding a userto a smoke detector of a fire control system in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a fire control system in accordancewith an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example method of guiding a user to a location ofa smoke detector in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Devices, methods, and systems for infrastructure-less indoor navigationin a fire control system are described herein. One device includes anon-transitory computer readable medium having computer readableinstructions stored thereon that are executable by a processor toreceive a location of each of a plurality of smoke detectors of afacility, display the location of each of the plurality of smokedetectors in a building information model (BIM) on a user interface,wherein each respective one of the displayed plurality of smokedetectors represents a different smoke detector of the plurality ofsmoke detectors of the facility, receive a selection of a firstdisplayed smoke detector of the plurality of displayed smoke detectorsrepresenting a first smoke detector of the plurality of smoke detectorsof the facility, and guide a user to the location of the first smokedetector of the facility responsive to receiving the selection.

In contrast to previous fire control systems in which a maintenanceengineer would have to go to a fire control panel to find out whichsmoke detectors had faults, where the smoke detectors were located, andconfirm whether they had fixed the fault, fire control systems inaccordance with the present disclosure allow for the maintenanceengineer to see the status of each of the plurality of smoke detectors,guide the user to any of the plurality of smoke detectors, and confirmwhether the maintenance engineer fixed the fault without going and/orgoing back to the control panel using infrastructure-less indoornavigation (e.g., without going back and forth between a fire controlpanel and a smoke detector). Accordingly, fire control systems inaccordance with the present disclosure may take significantly less timeto maintain.

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings that form a part hereof. The drawings show by wayof illustration how one or more embodiments of the disclosure may bepracticed.

These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those ofordinary skill in the art to practice one or more embodiments of thisdisclosure. It is to be understood that other embodiments may beutilized and that mechanical, electrical, and/or process changes may bemade without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

As will be appreciated, elements shown in the various embodiments hereincan be added, exchanged, combined, and/or eliminated so as to provide anumber of additional embodiments of the present disclosure. Theproportion and the relative scale of the elements provided in thefigures are intended to illustrate the embodiments of the presentdisclosure and should not be taken in a limiting sense.

The figures herein follow a numbering convention in which the firstdigit or digits correspond to the drawing figure number and theremaining digits identify an element or component in the drawing.Similar elements or components between different figures may beidentified by the use of similar digits.

As used herein, “a”, “an”, or “a number of” something can refer to oneor more such things, while “a plurality of” something can refer to morethan one such things. For example, “a number of components” can refer toone or more components, while “a plurality of components” can refer tomore than one component. Additionally, the designators “X”, “Y”, and “Z”as used herein, particularly with respect to reference numerals in thedrawings, indicate that a number of the particular feature so designatedcan be included with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Thisnumber may be the same or different between designations.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a computing device 100 for guiding auser to a smoke detector of a fire control system in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure. The fire control system can be thefire control system of a facility (e.g., building), such as, forinstance, a large facility having a large number of floors, such as acommercial facility, office building, hospital, and the like. However,embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to a particulartype of facility.

The computing device 100 for guiding a user to a smoke detector can be,refer to, and/or include a laptop computer, desktop computer, or mobiledevice, such as, for instance, a smart phone or tablet, among othertypes of computing devices. However, embodiments of the presentdisclosure are not limited to a particular type of computing device.Computing device 100 may be located at the facility, such as, forinstance, in a control room or operating room of the facility or may belocated remotely from the facility.

The fire control system can be used during an emergency situation (e.g.,a fire) to warn occupants to evacuate. For example, the fire controlsystem may include a fire control panel and a plurality of smokedetectors, located throughout the facility (e.g., on different floorsand/or in different rooms of the facility) that can sense a fireoccurring in the facility and provide a notification of the fire to theoccupants of the facility via alarms.

Computing device 100 can receive a building information model (BIM) ofthe facility, a location of each of a plurality of smoke detectors ofthe facility, and a status of each of the plurality of smoke detectorsvia a wired or wireless network. The network can be a networkrelationship through which computing device 100 can communicate with thecontrol panel and/or a server of the smoke control system. The controlpanel can also use the network to communicate with the server and/or theplurality of smoke detectors. Examples of such a network relationshipcan include a distributed computing environment (e.g., a cloud computingenvironment), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, a localarea network (LAN), a personal area network (PAN), a campus area network(CAN), or metropolitan area network (MAN), among other types of networkrelationships. For instance, the network can include a number of serversthat receive information from, and transmit information to, computingdevice 100 and the components of the smoke control system via a wired orwireless network.

As used herein, a “network” can provide a communication system thatdirectly or indirectly links two or more computers and/or peripheraldevices and allows users to access resources on other computing devicesand exchange messages with other users. A network can allow users toshare resources on their own systems with other network users and toaccess information on centrally located systems or on systems that arelocated at remote locations. For example, a network can tie a number ofcomputing devices together to form a distributed control network (e.g.,cloud).

A network may provide connections to the Internet and/or to the networksof other entities (e.g., organizations, institutions, etc.). Users mayinteract with network-enabled software applications to make a networkrequest, such as to get data. Applications may also communicate withnetwork management software, which can interact with network hardware totransmit information between devices on the network.

As shown in FIG. 1, computing device 100 can include a memory 102 and aprocessor 104. Memory 102 can be any type of storage medium that can beaccessed by processor 104 to perform various examples of the presentdisclosure. For example, memory 102 can be a non-transitory computerreadable medium having computer readable instructions (e.g., computerprogram instructions) stored thereon that are executable by processor104 to guide a user to a smoke detector in accordance with the presentdisclosure. That is, processor 104 can execute the executableinstructions stored in memory 102 to receive a location of each of aplurality of smoke detectors of a, display the locations of theplurality of smoke detectors in a building information model (BIM) on auser interface, receive a selection of a displayed smoke detector of theplurality of displayed smoke detectors representing a smoke detector ofthe plurality of smoke detectors of the facility, and guide a user tothe location of the smoke detector of the facility responsive toreceiving the selection.

In some embodiments, memory 102 can store the BIM and a status and alocation of each of the plurality of smoke detectors. The BIM and thestatus and location of each of the plurality of smoke detectors can bereceived via an antenna 110 and/or network interface 117 from a controlpanel and/or a server. In some examples, the status of each of theplurality of smoke detectors of the facility can be received from thecontrol panel via a near-field communication (NFC) antenna and thelocation of each of the plurality of smoke detectors of the facility canbe received via the network interface 117, which will be furtherdescribed in connection with FIG. 2. The BIM and the status and locationof each of the plurality of smoke detectors can be received in responseto a command, periodically, and/or upon detecting a change in the BIM, achange in status of a smoke detector and/or a change in location of asmoke detector, for example.

The BIM can include building information including space and fixtureinformation to define a plurality of spaces of the building. Forexample, the BIM can be a digital building floor plan. In some examples,the BIM can be downloaded to the computing device 100.

Each of the plurality of smoke detectors can have a status. For example,a smoke detector can have a properly functioning status, a faultystatus, a triggered status, or a disabled status. A smoke detector canhave a properly functioning status in response to the smoke detectoroperating without any faults. When there are errors, for exampleinaccurate sensor readings, a smoke detector can have a faulty status. Asmoke detector can have a triggered status in response to the smokedetector sounding an alarm. When a smoke detector has a disabled status,the smoke detector can be turned off, without power, and/or nottransmitting a signal, for example.

The location of each of the plurality of smoke detectors can be markedvia latitude and longitude coordinates. The locations of each of theplurality of smoke detectors can be transmitted from each of theplurality of smoke detectors to the server and/or control panel inresponse to a command. In some examples, the location of each of theplurality of smoke detectors can be manually entered and stored inmemory of the server and/or control panel.

The computing device 100 can include a user interface 106. In someembodiments, the user interface 106 can display the location of each ofthe plurality of smoke detectors. The location of each of the pluralityof smoke detectors can be displayed in the BIM, for example. Eachrespective one of the displayed plurality of smoke detectors canrepresent a different smoke detector of the plurality of smoke detectorsof the facility.

In some embodiments, the user interface 106 can be configured to receiveselections. For example, a user can select a displayed smoke detector onthe user interface 106. The user interface 106 can guide (e.g.,navigate) the user to the location of the smoke detector of the facilityrepresented by the selected smoke detector responsive to receiving theselection. The user interface 106 can guide the user from the locationof the fire control panel and/or the user's current position to thelocation of the smoke detector of the facility. The user interface 106can guide the user to the location of the smoke detector of the facilityby displaying directions and/or displaying a route on user interface106. In some examples, the computing device 100 can include a speaker112 to broadcast directions instead of or in parallel with the userinterface 106 displaying directions and/or displaying a route.

In some examples, the user interface 106 can display data correspondingto the smoke detector of the facility represented by the selected smokedetector. The displayed data can include what zone the smoke detector isin, battery life, link strength, smoke detector sensitivity, smokedetector readings, and the status of the smoke detector, for example.

The user interface 106 can display a smoke detector with a particularsymbol, in a particular shade or color, and/or highlighted based on thestatus of the corresponding smoke detector of the facility. For example,a displayed smoke detector can be highlighted responsive to thecorresponding smoke detector of the facility having a faulty status. Insome examples, the user interface 106 can display a smoke detector in afirst color responsive to the smoke detector of the facility having aproperly functioning status, a second color responsive to the smokedetector of the facility having a faulty status, a third colorresponsive to the smoke detector of the facility having a triggeredstatus, and a fourth color responsive to the smoke detector of thefacility having a disabled status.

The particular symbol, particular shade or color, and/or highlight ofthe displayed smoke detector on the user interface 106 can changeresponsive to the status of the corresponding smoke detector of thefacility changing. For example, the user interface 106 can be configuredto change the smoke detector from a first color to a second colorresponsive to the corresponding smoke detector of the facility goingfrom a faulty status to a properly functioning status.

In some embodiments, the computing device 100 can include a positioningsystem 108. The positioning system 108 can operate in environments wherea global positioning system (GPS) is unavailable or unreliable. Theseenvironments, for example inside a facility, can be referred to hereinas GPS denied environments. The positioning system 108 can includegeomagnetic positioning and/or inertial positioning to guide a user to alocation of a smoke detector.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a fire control system 220 in accordancewith an embodiment of the present disclosure. The fire control system220 can include a plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . ,214-X, a control panel 216, a network 222, a server 224, and a computingdevice 200. The computing device 200 can be analogous to the computingdevice 100 previously described in connection with FIG. 1.

The plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X, can belocated throughout a facility (e.g., on different floors and/or indifferent rooms of the facility). The smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . .. , 214-X can sense a fire occurring in the facility. In some examples,the smoke detector 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X can include or be coupledto an alarm to provide a notification of the fire to the occupants ofthe facility.

As shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . ., 214-X can be coupled to the control panel 216. The plurality of smokedetectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X can transmit a status 218-1,218-2, . . . , 218-Y and location 228-1, 228-2,..., 228-Z of each of theplurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X to the controlpanel 216. The plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-Xcan transmit the status 218-1, 218-2, . . . , 218-Y and/or location228-1, 228-2, . . . , 228-Z of each of the plurality of smoke detectors214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X periodically, upon detecting a change instatus 218-1, 218-2, . . . , 218-Y and/or a change in location 228-1,228-2, . . . , 228-Z, and/or upon receiving a command to transmit astatus 218-1, 218-2, . . . , 218-Y and/or location 228-1, 228-2, . . . ,228-Z from the control panel 216.

The control panel 216 can be a box installed in the facility that caninclude a memory 203, a processor 205 and an antenna 207, and a networkinterface 213. The memory 203 can store the status 218-1, 218-2, . . . ,218-Y of each of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . ,214-X. For example, smoke detector 214-1 can have a properly functioningstatus, a faulty status, a triggered status, or a disabled status. Smokedetector 214-1 can have a properly functioning status responsive tosmoke detector 214-1 operating without any faults. When there areerrors, for example inaccurate sensor readings, smoke detector 214-1 canhave a faulty status. Smoke detector 214-1 can have a triggered statusresponsive to smoke detector 214-1 sounding an alarm. When smokedetector 214-1 has a disabled status, smoke detector 214-1 can be turnedoff, without power, and/or not transmitting a signal, for example.

Memory 203 can be any type of storage medium that can be accessed byprocessor 205 to perform various examples of the present disclosure. Forexample, memory 203 can be a non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving computer readable instructions (e.g., computer programinstructions) stored thereon that are executable by processor 205 tosend a command to the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . ,214-X to request a status 218-1, 218-2, . . . , 218-Y and/or a location228-1, 228-2, . . . , 228-Z of each of the plurality of smoke detectors214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X, receive the status 218-1, 218-2, . . . ,218-Y and/or location 228-1, 228-2, . . . , 228-Z of each of theplurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X, and transmitthe status 218-1, 218-2,..., 218-Y and/or location 228-1, 228-2, . . . ,228-Z of each of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . ,214-X to the computing device 200 and/or the server 224.

For example, the control panel 216 can transmit the status 218-1, 218-2,. . . , 218-Y of each of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2,214-X to the computing device 200 via antenna 207. The antenna 207 canbe a near-field communication (NFC) antenna. In some examples, thecontrol panel 216 can transmit the location 228-1, 228-2, . . . , 228-Zof each of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-Xto the server 224 via a network 222.

The network 222 can be distributed computing environment (e.g., a cloudcomputing environment), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet,a local area network (LAN), a personal area network (PAN), a campus areanetwork (CAN), or metropolitan area network (MAN), among other types ofnetwork relationships. For instance, network 222 can include a number ofservers that receive information from, and transmit information tocontrol panel 216, computing device 200, and server 224 via a wired orwireless network.

The control panel 216 may include a network interface 213 to connect thecontrol panel 216 to the network 222. The server 224 may include anetwork interface 215 to connect the server 224 to the network 222 andthe computing device 200 may also include a network interface 217 toconnect the computing device 200 to the network 222. The networkinterfaces 213, 215, 217 can be ethernet interfaces, Wi-Fi interfaces,long-term evolution (LTE) interfaces, or public switched telephonenetwork interfaces, for example. However, embodiments of the presentdisclosure are not limited to a particular type(s) of networkinterfaces.

The server 224 can also include a memory 209 and a processor 211. Memory209 can store the location 228-1, 228-2, . . . , 228-Z of each of theplurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X. Each of theplurality of locations 228-1, 228-2, . . . , 228-Z can be stored as alatitude and longitude coordinate.

Memory 209 can be any type of storage medium that can be accessed byprocessor 211 to perform various examples of the present disclosure. Forexample, memory 209 can be a non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving computer readable instructions (e.g., computer programinstructions) stored thereon that are executable by processor 211 tosend a request (e.g., a command) to the control panel 216 to send astatus 218-1, 218-2, . . . , 218-Y and/or location 228-1, 228-2, . . . ,228-Z of each of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . ,214-X, receive the status 218-1, 218-2, . . . , 218-Y and/or location228-1, 228-2, . . . , 228-Z of each of the plurality of smoke detectors214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X, and transmit the status 218-1, 218-2, . . ., 218-Y of each of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . ., 214-X, the location 228-1, 228-2, . . . , 228-Z of each of theplurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X, and/orbuilding information model (BIM) 226 to the computing device 200.

The server 224 can transmit the status 218-1, 218-2, . . . , 218-Y ofeach of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X,the location 228-1, 228-2, . . . , 228-Z of each of the plurality ofsmoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X, and/or building informationmodel (BIM) 226 to the computing device 200 upon a command,periodically, and/or upon detecting a change in status of a smokedetector of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . ,214-X, a change in location of a smoke detector of the plurality ofsmoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X, and/or a change in the BIM.

In some embodiments, memory 209 can store the location 228-1, 228-2, . .. , 228-Z of each of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . .. , 214-X and the building information model (BIM) 226. Although notshown in FIG. 2, memory 209 can also store the status 218-1, 218-2, . .. , 218-Y of each of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . .. , 214-X.

The BIM 226 can include building information including space and fixtureinformation to define a plurality of spaces of the building. Forexample, the BIM 226 can be a digital building floor plan. In someexamples, the BIM 226 can be downloaded to the computing device 200.

The computing device 200, as previously described in connection withFIG. 1, can be used to guide a user to the plurality of smoke detectors214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X and can include a memory 202, a processor204, a user interface 206, a positioning system 208, an antenna 210, aspeaker 212, and a network interface 217. The computing device 200 canbe, refer to, and/or include a laptop computer, desktop computer, ormobile device, such as, for instance, a smart phone or tablet, amongother types of computing devices. However, embodiments of the presentdisclosure are not limited to a particular type of computing device.Computing device 200 may be located at the facility, such as, forinstance, in a control room or operating room of the facility or may belocated remotely from the facility.

Computing device 200 can receive via network interface 217 and/orantenna 210 the BIM 226, location 228-1, 228-2, . . . , 228-Z of each ofthe plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X, and status218-1, 218-2, . . . , 218-Y of each of the plurality of smoke detectors214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X. For example, the status 218-1, 218-2, . . ., 218-Y of each of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . ., 214-X of the facility can be received from the control panel 216 via anear-field communication (NFC) antenna and the location 228-1, 228-2, .. . , 228-Z of each of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, .. . , 214-X of the facility can be received via the network interface217. The BIM 226 and the status 218-1, 218-2, . . . , 218-Y and location228-1, 228-2, . . . , 228-Z of each of the plurality of smoke detectorscan be received responsive to a command from the computing device 200 tothe control panel 216 and/or the server 224, periodically, and/or upondetecting a change in the BIM 226, a change in a status 218-1, 218-2, .. . , 218-Y of a smoke detector of the plurality of smoke detectors214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X and/or a change in location 228-1, 228-2, .. . , 228-Z of a smoke detectors of the plurality of smoke detectors214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X, for example. Once received, memory 202 canstore the BIM 226, the status 218-1, 218-2, . . . , 218-Y of each of theplurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X, and thelocation 228-1, 228-2, . . . , 228-Z of each of the plurality of smokedetectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X.

As described in connection with FIG. 1, memory 202 can be any type ofstorage medium that can be accessed by processor 204 to perform variousexamples of the present disclosure. For example, memory 202 can be anon-transitory computer readable medium having computer readableinstructions (e.g., computer program instructions) stored thereon thatare executable by processor 204 to receive the status 218-1, 218-2, . .. , 218-Y of each of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . .. , 214-X, the location 228-1, 228-2, . . . , 228-Z of each of theplurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X, and BIM 226,display, on the user interface 206, the location 228-1, 228-2, . . . ,228-Z of each of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . ,214-X in the BIM 226, and receive a selection of a displayed smokeddetector representing a smoked detector of the facility of the pluralityof smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X, and guide a user to thelocation of the smoke detector of the facility.

The computing device 200 can include a user interface 206. In someembodiments, the user interface 206 can display the location 228-1,228-2, . . . , 228-Z of each of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1,214-2, . . . , 214-X of the facility. The location 228-1, 228-2, . . . ,228-Z of each of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . ,214-X of the facility can be displayed in the BIM 226, for example. Eachrespective one of the displayed plurality of smoke detectors canrepresent a different smoke detector of the plurality of smoke detectors214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X of the facility.

In some embodiments, the user interface 206 can be configured to receiveselections. For example, a user can select a displayed smoke detector onthe user interface 206. The user interface 206 can guide a user to thelocation of the smoke detector of the plurality of smoke detectors214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X of the facility represented by the selectedsmoke detector. The user interface 206 can guide the user from the firecontrol panel 216 and/or the user's current position to the smokedetector of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-Xof the facility. The user interface 206 can guide the user to thelocation of the smoke detector of the plurality of smoke detectors214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X of the facility by displaying directionsand/or displaying a route. In some examples, the computing device 200can include a speaker 212 to broadcast directions instead of or inparallel with the user interface 206 displaying directions and/ordisplaying a route.

In some examples, the user interface 206 can display data correspondingto the smoke detector of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2,. . . , 214-X of the facility represented by the selected smokedetector. The displayed data can include what zone the smoke detector isin, battery life, link strength, smoke detector sensitivity, smokedetector readings, and the status of the smoke detector, for example.

The user interface 206 can display a smoke detector with a particularsymbol, in a particular shade or color, and/or highlighted based on thestatus of the corresponding smoke detector of the plurality of smokedetectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X of the facility. For example, adisplayed smoke detector can be highlighted responsive to thecorresponding smoke detector of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1,214-2, . . . , 214-X of the facility having a faulty status. In someexamples, the user interface 116 can display a smoke detector in a firstcolor responsive to the smoke detector of the plurality of smokedetectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X of the facility having a properlyfunctioning status, a second color responsive to the smoke detector ofthe plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X of thefacility having a faulty status, a third color responsive to the smokedetector of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-Xof the facility having a triggered status, and a fourth color responsiveto the smoke detector of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2,. . . , 214-X of the facility having a disabled status.

The particular symbol, particular shade or color, and or highlight ofthe displayed smoke detector on the user interface 206 can change inresponsive to the status of the corresponding smoke detector of theplurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X of the facilitychanging. For example, the user interface 206 can be configured tochange the smoke detector from a first color to a second colorresponsive to the corresponding smoke detector of the plurality of smokedetectors 214-1, 214-2, . . . , 214-X of the facility going from afaulty status to a properly functioning status.

In some embodiments, the computing device 200 can include a positioningsystem 208. The positioning system 208 can operate in environments wherea global positioning system (GPS) is unavailable or unreliable. Theseenvironments, for example inside a facility, can be called GPS deniedenvironments. The positioning system 208 can include geomagneticpositioning and/or inertial positioning to guide a user to a location ofa smoke detector of the plurality of smoke detectors 214-1, 214-2, . . ., 214-X of the facility.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example method 330 of guiding a user to a locationof a smoke detector in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Method 330 can be performed, for example, by computingdevice 100 and/or 200 described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2,respectively.

At block 332, method 330 includes receiving, by the computing device, abuilding information model (BIM) of a facility, a location of each of aplurality of smoke detectors of the facility, and a status of each ofthe plurality of smoke detectors in the facility. In some examples, thestatus of each of the plurality of smoke detectors of the facility canbe received from a control panel via a near-field communication (NFC)antenna and the location of each of the plurality of smoke detectors ofthe facility and the BIM can be received via a network interface from aserver. The BIM and the status and location of each of the plurality ofsmoke detectors can be received responsive to a command from thecomputing device to the control panel and/or the server, periodically,and/or upon detecting a change in the BIM, detecting a change in astatus of a smoke detector, and/or detecting a change in a location of asmoke detector.

At block 334, method 330 includes displaying, on a user interface of thecomputing device, the location and status of each of the plurality ofsmoke detectors in the building information model (BIM), wherein eachrespective one of the displayed plurality of smoke detectors represent adifferent smoke detector of the plurality of smoke detectors of thefacility. In some examples, the user interface can display a smokedetector with a particular symbol, in a particular shade or color,and/or highlighted based on the status of the corresponding smokedetector of the facility.

At block 336, method 330 includes receiving a selection of a firstdisplayed smoke detector of the plurality of displayed smoke detectorsrepresenting a first smoke detector of the plurality of smoke detectorsof the facility.

At block 338, method 330 includes guiding a user to the location of thefirst smoke detector of the facility responsive to receiving theselection. In some examples, a positioning system can be used to guidethe user. The positioning system can include geomagnetic positioningand/or inertial positioning, for example.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same techniques can be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments of thedisclosure.

It is to be understood that the above description has been made in anillustrative fashion, and not a restrictive one. Combination of theabove embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically describedherein will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing theabove description.

The scope of the various embodiments of the disclosure includes anyother applications in which the above structures and methods are used.Therefore, the scope of various embodiments of the disclosure should bedetermined with reference to the appended claims, along with the fullrange of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features are groupedtogether in example embodiments illustrated in the figures for thepurpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is notto be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the embodiments of thedisclosure require more features than are expressly recited in eachclaim.

Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter liesin less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, thefollowing claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer readable medium havingcomputer readable instructions stored thereon that are executable by aprocessor to: receive a location of each of a plurality of smokedetectors of a facility; display the location of each of the pluralityof smoke detectors in a building information model (BIM) on a userinterface, wherein each respective one of the displayed plurality ofsmoke detectors represents a different one of the plurality of smokedetectors of the facility; receive a selection of one of the displayedplurality of smoke detectors; and guide, responsive to receiving theselection, a user to the location of the smoke detector of the facilityrepresented by the selected displayed smoke detector using geomagneticpositioning.
 2. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein theinstructions are executable by the processor to guide the user to thelocation from a current position of the user.
 3. The computer readablemedium of claim 1, wherein each respective one of the displayedplurality of smoke detectors is displayed with a particular symbol basedon a status of the smoke detector of the facility represented by thatrespective displayed smoke detector.
 4. The computer readable medium ofclaim 1, wherein each respective one of the displayed plurality of smokedetectors is displayed in a particular shade based on a status of thesmoke detector of the facility represented by that respective displayedsmoke detector.
 5. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein: afirst one of the displayed plurality of smoke detectors is displayed ina first color responsive to the smoke detector of the facilityrepresented by that respective displayed smoke detector having aproperly functioning status; a second one of the displayed plurality ofsmoke detectors is displayed in a second color responsive to the smokedetector of the facility represented by that respective displayed smokedetector having a faulty status; a third one of the displayed pluralityof smoke detectors is displayed in a third color responsive to the smokedetector of the facility represented by that respective displayed smokedetector having a triggered status; and a fourth one of the displayedplurality of smoke detectors is displayed in a fourth color responsiveto the smoke detector of the facility represented by that respectivedisplayed smoke detector having a disabled status.
 6. The computerreadable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions are executable bythe processor to: receive a selection of an additional one of thedisplayed plurality of smoke detectors; and guide, responsive toreceiving the selection of the additional one of the displayed pluralityof smoke detectors, the user to the location of the smoke detector ofthe facility represented by the additional selected displayed smokedetector using geomagnetic positioning.
 7. The computer readable mediumof claim 1, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor todisplay, on the user interface, data corresponding to the smoke detectorof the facility represented by the selected displayed smoke detectorresponsive to receiving the selection.
 8. A method forinfrastructure-less indoor navigation in a fire control system,comprising: receiving, by a computing device, a location of each of aplurality of smoke detectors of a facility; displaying, on a userinterface of the computing device, the location of each of the pluralityof smoke detectors in a building information model (BIM), wherein eachrespective one of the displayed plurality of smoke detectors representsa different one of the plurality of smoke detectors of the facility;receiving, via the user interface, a selection of one of the displayedplurality of smoke detectors; and guiding, by the computing deviceresponsive to receiving the selection, a user to the location of thesmoke detector of the facility represented by the selected displayedsmoke detector using inertial positioning.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein the method includes guiding the user to the location via theuser interface.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the method includesguiding the user to the location via a speaker of the computing device.11. The method of claim 8, wherein the method includes receiving, by thecomputing device, the BIM from a server.
 12. The method of claim 8,wherein the method includes: receiving, by the computing device, astatus of each of the plurality of smoke detectors of the facility; anddisplaying, on the user interface, the status of each of the pluralityof smoke detectors in the BIM.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein themethod includes receiving the status of each of the plurality of smokedetectors from a control panel of the facility.
 14. The method of claim8, wherein the method includes guiding the user to the location of thesmoke detector of the facility represented by the selected displayedsmoke detector without using a global positioning system (GPS).
 15. Asystem for infrastructure-less indoor navigation in a fire controlsystem, comprising: a plurality of smoke detectors; and a computingdevice configured to: receive a location of each of the plurality ofsmoke detectors; display, on a user interface of the computing device,the location of each of the plurality of smoke detectors in a buildinginformation model (BIM), wherein each respective one of the displayedplurality of smoke detectors represents a different one of the pluralityof smoke detectors; receive a selection of one of the displayedplurality of smoke detectors; and guide, responsive to receiving theselection, a user to the location of the smoke detector represented bythe selected displayed smoke detector by broadcasting directions via aspeaker of the computing device.
 16. The system of claim 15, whereineach respective one of the displayed plurality of smoke detectors isdisplayed in a particular color based on a status of the smoke detectorrepresented by that respective displayed smoke detector.
 17. The systemof claim 15, wherein each respective one of the displayed plurality ofsmoke detectors is highlighted or not highlighted based on a status ofthe smoke detector represented by that respective displayed smokedetector.
 18. The system of claim 15, wherein: the system includes afire control panel; and the computing device is configured to receivethe location of each of the plurality of smoke detectors from the firecontrol panel.
 19. The system of claim 15, wherein: the selecteddisplayed smoke detector has a fault; and the selected displayed smokedetector is displayed in a particular color responsive to the selecteddisplayed smoke detector having the fault.
 20. The system of claim 15,wherein the computing device is configured to guide the user to thelocation of the smoke detector represented by the selected displayedsmoke detector by displaying the directions on the user interface inparallel with broadcasting the directions via the speaker.